Egg-tester.



INVENTOI? M'e lwff TOR/V E V S Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

H. NiEHOFF.

EGG TESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-21, 1914.

HENRY NIGHT, 0E BAYONNE, NEW J'EJEY.

niaansv.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented a 13.19%.

Application filed January 21, 1914. Serial it'o. 813,4t85.

To all whom it may concern Be it liHlOWl'l that l, Hnnnr Nnorrorr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bayonne, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and llmproved Egg-Tester, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to an electric egg tester adapted to be used by housewives in testing the eggs they purchase, and also by egg merchants, whereby eggs can be easily and quickly tested to ascertain their degree of freshness.

The invention has for its general objects to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive egg testing device which is efficient tit) and reliable in' use and automatic in operation in regard to the turning on and oil of the light by the placing of the egg in or removing it from testing position.

More specifically the object of the invention is the provision of an egg tester which comprises a box having an apertured egg seat on which the eggs to be tested are placed one after another, and under the seat is a lamp with or without a reflector, and a switch or circuit closer for automatically closing and opening the circuit of the lamp, such circuit closer consisting of a pair of resilient contacts arranged in crossed relation and normally separated, with one of the contacts so disposed as to be engaged and depressed by an egg when placed on the seat, so that the contacts will engage and close the lamp circuit, whereby the rays of the lamp will illuminate the egg to enable the same to be tested, the removal of the egg causing the contacts to separate so that the lamp circuit will be opened. The contacts, however, are capable of adjustment so that the upper contact can be disposed under the normally lower contact, whereby the resiliency of the upper contact will maintain the circuit closed independently of the plac ing on or removal of an egg from the seat so that the lamp can be kept'lighted for any desired use, as it will be understood that the testing of eggs with the device takes place in the dark, and if the user wishes to have a continuous light for any purpose he simply adjusts the normallyopen contacts so as to be in closed circuit position.

With such objects in view, and others which will appear as the description pro; ceeds, the invention comprises various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts such as will. be set forth in the foliowing description and claims appended hereto. in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one embodiment of the invention,

and wherein similar characters of reference Referring to the drawing, A designates abox of any suitable character which is provided with a sliding or hinged lid 1 that has an apertured egg seat 2 that is adapted to receive the egg to be tested, as shown in Fig. 2. Under this seat is an incandescent lamp 3 mounted in a standard socket 4 that is-fastened to the bottom 5 of the box. In the box is fastened and secured in any suitable manner a dry cell 6 or' other source of current which has one terminal 7 connected by a wire 8 with a terminal 9 of the lamp. The other terminals of the lamp and cell are adapted to be connected together by a normally open switch or circuit closer B. In the present instance this circuit closer is shown as a resilient contact 9 in the form of a strip of wire fastened to the binding post or terminal 10 of the cell, the wire being coiled at 11, if necessary, to impart re siliency thereto. The other element of the circuit closer consists of a contact or wire 12 which has one end 13 fastened to the terminal 14 of the lamp, and the free end 15 of this wire extends across and under the wire or contact 9. This contact 12 may be resilient and is normally separated from the contact 9. The free extremity of the contact 9 is adjacent the apertured egg seat, so that when an egg is placed thereon the contact 9 is engaged and pressed downwardly so as to engage the contact 12, whereby the lamp circuit is completed with the result that the rays of light strike the egg so thatit is possible to ascertain the degree of freshness thereof. When the egg is removed the contacts '9 and 12 separate by the contact 9 moving upwardly. If it is desired to maintain the circuit closed independently of the placing of an egg on the seat 2, the contact 9 can be sprung laterally and then downwardly to-engage under the contact 12, as shown by the dotted lines, Fi 2.

Ihe form of tester above described is especially suitable for kitchen use, but for merchants a multiple tester such as shown in Fig. 3 may be preferable. This comprises a box A which has a top provided with a-plurality of egg seats 2 ,and11nder each seat 1s arranged a lamp 13, as shown in Fig. 4. Each lamp has its own circuit closer B consisting of contacts 9 and 12 similar to the contacts in Fig. 2. The device may be connected by a cord conductor C with an ordinary lighting circuit, and two wires 16 and 17 of the cord conductor are connected respectively with the lamps 13 and contacts 9. The lamps are normally out of circuit, and when an egg is placed over any lamp the latter will light up so that there w1ll be no consumption of current when eggs are not.

being tested.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with .the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and. method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be made when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. An egg tester comprising a box provided with an opening forming an egg seat, a lamp disposed under the seat, a cell in the box, a resilient wire connected with one terminal of the cell and extending under the seat to form a contact adapted to be engaged by an egg placed on the seat and moved thereby to closed-circuit position, a connection between the cell and lamp, and a resilient wire connected with the lamp and having a free yielding extremity disposed to be engaged by the first-mentioned wire when the latter is depressed by an egg, said resilient wires forming the'sole connecting means between one side of the lamp and one terminal of the cell.

2. An egg tester comprising an egg seat, a lamp, a circuit therefor, and means for closing the lamp circuit by the placing of an egg on the seat, said means consisting of two crossed spring contacts normally separated with one contact arranged to be engaged by an egg in being seated and pressed against one side of the other con tact, one contact being movable out of its normal position and by its resiliency maintained in engagement with opposite side of the other contact for continuous burning of the lamp independently of seating and unseating of an egg.

3. An egg tester comprising a box having an opening forming an egg seat, a lamp under the seat, a cell in the box, a connection between one terminal of the cell and one terminal of the lamp, a contact connected with the other terminal of the lamp, and a contact connected with the other terminal of the cell, one contact being resilient and normally separated from the other and engageable on top or under the same and the resilient contact being arranged adjacent the egg seat to move into engagement with the other contact by the placing of an egg on the seat, both contacts being wholly within and protected by the box.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY NIEHOFF.

Witnesses:

GHATTEN BRADWAY, PHILIP D. ROLLHAUS. 

